THE JACKSON COUNTY SCHOOLS VOCATIONAL EDUCATION RESEARCH PROJECT, A SUPPLEMENT.

LANGEVIN, DARRELL; PRICKETT, LOY E.

THIS IS A SUMMARY OF A RESEARCH PROJECT CONDUCTED IN JACKSON COUNTY, OREGON, TO DETERMINE THE PRESENT STATUS OF VOCATIONAL EDUCATION. TWO HYPOTHESES WERE TESTED--(1) JOBS ARE AVAILABLE IN THE COUNTY FOR HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES WHO HAVE COMPLETED VOCATIONAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS, AND (2) HIGH SCHOOL OFFERINGS IN VOCATIONAL EDUCATION ARE ADEQUATE. EMPLOYMENT DATA WERE COLLECTED FROM THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF EMPLOYMENT. DATA ON EQUIPMENT, FACILITIES, AND COURSES WERE COLLECTED FROM THE INSTRUCTIONAL STAFF IN EACH SCHOOL. A QUESTIONNAIRE WAS ADMINISTERED TO 2,473 JUNIORS AND SENIORS IN COUNTY SCHOOLS. SCHOOL COUNSELORS COMPLETED TWO QUESTIONNAIRES. THE RESULTS OF THE LABOR SKILLS SURVEY SHOWED THAT JOBS ARE AVAILABLE FOR QUALIFIED WORKERS AND THAT THERE WILL BE MORE IN 5 YEARS. CURRICULAR OFFERINGS ARE NOT IN BALANCE SINCE MAJOR EFFORTS ARE MADE ON COLLEGE PREPARATORY PROGRAMS. PRESENT FACILITIES ARE NOT ADEQUATE FOR AN EXPANDED PROGRAM OF VOCATIONAL EDUCATION. THE COUNSELORS HAVE TOO MANY ADVISERS TO EFFECTIVELY HELP THEM. OVER TWO-THIRDS OF THE JUNIOR AND SENIOR STUDENTS INDICATED AN INTEREST IN A VOCATIONAL CENTER. THE MOST EFFECTIVE APPROACH TO IMPROVING THE PREPARATION OF STUDENTS FOR JOB ENTRY WOULD BE THE DEVELOPMENT OF A COUNTY-WIDE PLAN OF VOCATIONAL EDUCATION WITH THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A COUNTY VOCATIONAL EDUCATION CENTER. (PA)